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Both parties responsible for oil crisis
The United States economy has recently been under the assault of its lifeblood: oil. The average price of a gallon of gasoline this week reached $3.58, up 40 cents in one year.
Republican candidates have been propagating their inaccurate and over-simplified belief that President Barack Obama is to blame for the economic problems. Not surprisingly, they claim the recent increases in oil prices are also his fault.
Regardless, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney states U.S. oil production is at an eight-year high, and the Obama administration has invested in millions of new acres for oil exploration. Nonetheless, the GOP is calling on the president to bring more domestic oil into the market.
It is understandable that the American citizenry and its politicians would react so strongly to such a drastic escalation in oil rates. All modern industrial economies rely on a continuous and relatively cheap cost of oil for progression and expansion. When the oil flow is disturbed, people in all walks of life feel it.
In times such as these, the most obvious response is to import the largest quantity of oil as possible, regardless of other consequences. The sole purpose is to ensure continued economic growth. Therefore, in line with their simplistic outlook and naive sense of an almost cartoon-like world, Republican candidates have not attempted to respond to the real issues at play. Instead, they have merely called on the president to “drill more.”
For generations, Americans have been raised to believe they live in a bubble, and the two oceans on the East and West coasts protect them from problems facing the rest of the world. There are times when people are forced to abandon this illusion in place of the reality of the newly globalized politico-economic environment.
For the most part, Americans want to hear their politicians tell them any of the country’s problems can be solved domestically. This is not merely a mistaken belief, but rather a dangerous one because it neglects to answer problems intelligently.
How could anyone not expect oil prices to increase when Iran has recently ended shipments of oil to Britain and France? How could anyone not expect oil prices to increase when the economy has been growing in the U.S. and overseas, naturally resulting in the recent spike in oil demand?
But expectations are different than reality. Even if everyone expected oil prices to surge, it seems people are never prepared for the reality.
However, the most serious problems will be the end of the world’s oil supply as a natural resource as the reserves run out. Furthermore, political fragmenting will result from the social chaos, which will ensue over industries thirsty for oil and the catastrophic implications of a world that never prepared itself for the inevitable loss of its most valued energy supply. Beyond this, there is the most serious problem: the increasing effects of global climate change.
Democratic and Republican actions are now traversing into the realm of purely unethical activities. Younger generations are going to be left with a planet that is losing its ability to sustain civilization because of human actions — in the sense of the environment and energy supply.
By depriving future generations of a sustainable energy supply and leaving them with a planet that is quickly becoming uninhabitable for a large percentage of species, society has been acting with unforgivable immorality.
People must always remember that those alive today are mere stewards for the environment, living on loan from future generations. This method of thought has been lost in the current hedonistic mentality of consumerist society, but it can be regained if people stop blaming each other and start working together.
Obama and the Republican Party are to blame for the current crisis, but people hold the most responsibility for allowing their mentality to rob their children of the futures they deserve. Let us stop playing petty games of blame, and instead start coming together to solve these serious problems and allow the world to prosper for future generations.
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A version of this article appeared in the Feb 24 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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while i agree obama has nothing to do with gas prices, i personally think you are way off the mark for suggesting that a growing economy is the reason for increased gas prices. in case you haven't realized our economy isn't exactly growing at any pace relative to the increase in prices. the iran situation might play into the prices because oil is sold as futures options contracts so that means they anticipate a reduced supply in the future which means higher prices now. but iran is small potatoes and we can get oil from anywhere in the world - no matter where it comes from or which kind of oil it originated from gas is all the same price at the pump (which further proves it doesn't matter if it is domestic oil or not - may help because reduced costs in the supply chain could translate into undercutting other suppliers, but then there is also the temptation to sell it at the market rate and just produce less). we'll never run out of oil, when supply is tight prices will go up to make it profitable drill for deeper or process more difficult kinds of oil and if people can't afford that then as a business the decision is to exit the industry. finally, the only way for oil prices to decline is for people to find better options for transportation and for our energy sector to demand less of it.
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and just as a side note: i find it hilarious that such a liberal says something like - "...living on loan from future generations" in a bad way. please, we've been doing that since we started spending so much on social programs by increasing the deficit and debt ceiling recklessly.
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Iran contains 10% of the world's proven oil reserves, and is the fourth largest producer in the world. Hardly small potatoes when we're talking about only a 10% rise in gas prices.
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Fact: Global production and consumption drives oil prices.
Fact: A region that produces oil, not necessarily one that the US buys oil from, can influence prices by restricting production/output.
Fact: Turmoil in the Middle East is a significant contributor to the rise in the price of crude oil in the last decade.
Fact: George Bush created an unstable region, thus driving up the price of oil around the globe.
Fact: Speculation has as much to do with the increase in gas prices as the actual production/output.
Fact: Republicans would never let legislation through that allowed the government to regulate or reduce profits of the oil companies because they receive lots of campaign funding from "Big Oil".
Fact: The Keystone XL pipeline project would take a decade to reduce the cost of gas, and the jobs created by the project are the same jobs Republicans slammed Obama for creating during the stimulus: Temporary construction jobs.
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Political opinions aren't fact. FACT: claiming something to be fact doesn't make it so. Maybe you should follow up your FACT with SOURCE. Democratic underground doesn't count.
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As far as the keystone pipeline goes there's a point you're missing altogether. The republicans wanted to reduce the deficit and not increase spending. So in slamming the temporary construction jobs they were saying they didn't want tax payer funded money to pay for them. The keystone pipeline is private and thus it would create private sector temporary construction jobs which is a no brainier anybody should say yes to. There's a huge difference with creating temporary construction jobs with taxpayer money and letting some private sector company decide to invest in jobs with their own money. I do agree though that it would not have helped gas costs any time in the near future. Also, gwb did not make that region unstable. Learn some history.
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"I do not think major oil spills in Nebraska or Kansas are big concerns."
Oh, well that alleviated any concern I had.
What about the republican governor disagreeing with the project? Do you realize how much grain we grow in the Great Plains, not only to feed the US, but export to the rest of the world? Guess where the water to grow those crops comes from...
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I felt an odd sensation of Deja vu reading this article. It reminded me of a long time back in 2008 when Bush signed an order lifting a ban on offshore drilling and opening up the Alaskian territories.
There are a predicted 75 billion barrels to be gained in Alaska. The republicans in 2004-2008 claimed opening this area could increase global oil output by 1%, decreasing realized gas costs by $0.03-$0.05 per gallon. And that is a "best-case" estimate, used to sell the idea to the public. The democrats are getting lower estimates, but the point is made.
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when the price of gas increases, doesn't it imply demand is going up? Aren't factories creating more products, running more engines, pumping more chemicals, soldering more transistors, and using more fuel?
It's all rhetoric here, but the fact stands: Production is increasing, jobs are getting made and people are buying things that they think make them happy. However, it's not entirely in America. So here is a solution that allows you to preserve your way of cheap gasoline: convince the citizens in other growing countries like China, Brazil, and India who are starting to get a taste for the american way of life--buying Ipad's and McDonald's and personal vehicles--that their consumerism is causing you pay too much to drive to work.
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